As April is National Jazz Month- I figure it’s good to show a little bit of this side of my music. Hopefully, y’all enjoy it!
Bye Bye Blackbird is one of my favorite standards to improvise on. The melody and chord changes are simple and tuneful enough to be memorable but also allow flexibility in the approach. I’ve performed it in countless jazz combo settings as well as in a recent video with jazz accordionist Cory Pesaturo.
This performance with renowned Pennsylvania saxophonist, Erich Cawalla is a unique take where I’m playing trumpet and we have no formal rhythm section. Without a chordal instrument, a bass instrument, or rhythm, we are having to perform all of the roles of melody, harmony and rhythm with 2 monophonic instruments. It’s a difficult exercise to keep the form and tempo of the song apparent to the audience while stretching the boundaries of what is performed and implied by the interaction of the two instruments. Improvisation is a combination of vocabulary that is developed from study and experience while also reacting to the surroundings. Sometimes it is successful in reaching an audience. Sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes it’s successful in developing rapport and communication with the performers- and sometimes it isn’t. It’s also interesting to see what each individual feels is successful or not successful in the moment.